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Agroha Dham |
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Agroha / Agra Republic was established around 51 years before the war of
Mahabarat. According to writers of "Bhavishya Puran; Ke Agravansh" "Vanishanukirtnam"
and "Uru Charitam" Maharaja Agrasen ruled some 5000 years back over Agroha
around the time of Mahabharat.
Agroha was a Republican State consisting of 18 state units. The residents of
this states were known as Yodhya and Agraya .Some of the writings on the coins
that have been excavated from the site of ancient Agroha read as 'Yodhyanam Bahu
Dhanya Kanam','Yodhya Ganasya Jaya', 'Yodhyanam Jaimantra Shalinam'.
The Agroha republic was renowned for its bravery and prosperity. However over
the time it could not stand the foreign invasions of Hunas, Greeks and Yavanas,
who invaded the north India disintegrating various kingdoms in Punjab. The
disintegrated Agroha led to the migration of the residents of Agroha to other
parts of the country viz Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Malwa, however
they derieved a common name Aggarwals ie. AGROHA-WALE.
 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND: Tolmy , a greek
writer in his book titled "Example of Geography"
has mentioned about a city called "Agara". This
has been equated to "Agrohe" by the geologist
Rannal. In the map supplemented in the book of
Tolmy "Agara" has been shown at the same place
as the present " AGROHA"
Moshio Prajluski has in his writings identified
Agroha as " Agrodak" or " Agrod" This statement
has been further testified by the writings on
coins found from Agroha wherein 'Agrod' or 'Agacha'
state has been written in the Brahm Lipi (script
).
Dr. Satyaketu Vidyalankar has written that
Agroha existed some 100 Years before the kushan
dynasty.
According to the Punjab Govt. Gazzette " Agroha"
was a very big ancient city. The primary efforts
to discover its historical past were made in the
year 1888-89, when the Indian Govt. started
excavations at the ancient agroha site under
archaeologist C.T. Rogers. However the intial
excavations were carried out only for 15 Days.
 The excavation was restarted in the year
1938-39, though even this could not be carried
on for long due to the IInd world war but it
provided major historical input towards Agroha's
existence.
In 1978-79 the Archaelogical Department of
Haryana Govt. began excavation work under the
guidance and supervision of Mr. J.S.Khatri and
Mr. Acharya.
It is quite apparent from the excavations that
below the mounds existed a big, well planned
progressive town.
Some of the materials collected from the
excavated site :
COINS:
Large number of coins have been found at the
excavated site. The coins are predominantly of
silver & bronze in different shapes and sizes.
The Script and signs on the coins depict that
they belong to different periods.
The bronze coins have "Agadke,Agach, Janpads" in
prakrit language inscribed on them. A coin dated
200 BD called die struck or counter struck has
been found besides Roman , Kushana , Yodhaya and
Gupta dynasty coins .
SEALS:
The seals that have been found at Agroha have
been inscribed with words like"Pitradutt" "
Sadhu Vridhasya" "Shamkar Malasya" ". Madrsya"
etc.
ARTIFACTS:
From the excavation site many statutes made of
stone and sand have benn unearthed. Masks,
Terracotta Animals and Toys have also been
found. Utensils belonging to 2C B.D. in black
,brown and red polish have also been discovered.
LOCATION: AGROHA is located some 20km North-West of the Hissar city in Haryana.
This is some 190 km from Delhi (India), when approached via Rohtak-Hissar.
This was some 5000 years back the prosperous and illustrous kingdom of
Maharaja Agrasen. The remains of ancient AGROHA city are some 1-1.5 km away from
the present AGROHA village. The excavation of the ancient AGROHA city started in
the year 1888-89, under C.T.Rogers. It was at that time that people came to know
about this great kingdom.
The redevelopment process at Agroha after the excavation was slow. Sh.
Bholaram Dalmia of Bhiwani Distt. and Sh. Sanwalram built a Gau Shala in 1914 at
Agroha. Then in 1939 Sh. Ramji Das Bojoria from Calcutta had Shiv Mandir and a
rest house built. All these activities were more at individualistic level.
It was only in 1976 that a need for a concerted group effort was felt at
the convention of All India Aggarwal Representatives. This realisation led to
the establishment of AGROHA VIKAS TRUST in 1976, under Sh.Shri Krishna Modi and
Sh Rameshwar Das Gupta.Their efforts were supplemented by Late Master Laxmi
Narain Gupta who donated 27 acres of land to Agroha Vikas Trust.The development
work at Agroha was carried on under the able supervision of Late Sh Tilak Raj
Aggarwal.
Since then all the development process at AGROHA is planned and
implemented by AGROHA VIKAS TRUST.The developments at Agroha received a major
boost from 1985 when Sh. Subhash Goel joined in as the President of Agroha Vikas
Trust.He replanned Agroha Dham with special emphasis on the Temple Complex and
the Shakti Sarovar. Functionally Agroha Dham has been planned to represent the
historical tenets of India- As a centre of learning, philosphy and spirituality,
Vridh Ashram (Old Age Home), Health Centre, Research Centre.
The total area under the trust for the development of Agroha Dham is 27
acres. The developments have taken place in the form of a Temple complex
dedicated to goddess Mahalaxmi and Saraswati , this also hosts the memorial
temple of Maharaj Agrasen. The beauty of the place is exemplified by the Shakti
Sarovar and well maintained lawns.
Opposite the Trust compound is the Agrasen Medical College and Research
Centre.The medical college is one of the most prestigious education centre for
medical studies.It is gearing up to become one of the biggest medical research
centre under the supervision of Sh. O. P. Jindal. Less than a Kilometre away
from the trust compound is the ancient Temple of Sheela Mata which has become a
major tourist attraction.
Some more developments are under way at Agroha viz: Maharaj Agrasen Agroha
House Building Coop Society, Hissa: which is spread over an area of 25 acres
covering 300 plots. Besides this there is a Grain Market under development. This
is a controlled area to be developed in a planned manner.
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Courtesy: Agroha Vikas Trust (www.agroha.com) |
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